


Prime directive

by m_findlow



Category: Torchwood
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-16
Updated: 2019-06-16
Packaged: 2020-05-12 20:03:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,749
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19236133
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/m_findlow/pseuds/m_findlow
Summary: Torchwood's directive puts the whole planet in jeopardy.





	Prime directive

**Author's Note:**

  * For [badly_knitted](https://archiveofourown.org/users/badly_knitted/gifts).



All indications were that it was going to be a quiet day in Cardiff. Tosh's new rift predictor program, which was in its beta stages of testing, had been reasonably accurate thus far - maybe eighty percent - so when she reported that they weren't expecting anything to come through the rift for the day, he'd sent the team home for the afternoon. They all worked too hard as it was. The least he could do was give them a break when the chance arose.

That was why the last thing he expected were for all the computers in the hub to start madly blaring at him whilst he was tending to a large pile of overdue paperwork. One day he'd figure out a way to get on top of all the red tape, maybe hire someone to handle it all for him, but for now, he was their leader and so the responsibility fell to him.

He was painfully aware that he now found himself caught short, and was about to hit the speed dial for Suzie's phone when he stopped himself, checking the exact details of the alert that had sent his computer into meltdown. It wasn't them - at least, not the rift in Cardiff. It was a secondary emergency alert coming straight from Torchwood One. They were the ones facing crisis.

He'd secretly harboured concerns that one day London might get themselves into trouble. It was just inevitable when you had a glory hungry maniac at the helm, directly answerable to the government, whose only concern was that they saw value for the money they were dishing out hand over fist to the Torchwood Institute. Jack had less of an issue over money, having scored himself financial freedom from having to disclose his branch's budgetary spend from the prying eyes and fiscal approval of Torchwood One. Having cavorted with Her Majesty back in the day had its advantages after all. Now he was beginning to wonder just what on Earth they'd landed themselves in.

Torchwood One had a prime directive: alien technology for the betterment of the human race. In other words, if it's alien, it's ours. And at whatever cost, he should add. Torchwood One had become everything he depised, the devil love child that combined the defense against aliens that Torchwood was meant to protect the Earth from, with the technical research and development that UNIT prided itself on. Jack could put up with the boffins and the generals at UNIT. At least they had a semblance of military command that oversaw what went on, and the ability to curb its efforts from reaching dangerous levels.

Torchwood One had no such qualms. If they could cannibalise an alien weapon and make it capable of obliterating anything that came within five light years of Earth, they'd not only create it, they'd use it, too. That was the line that they'd crossed, and Jack couldn't count the number of times that he'd butted heads with them over it. If anything, the severance of the two Torchwood facilities had been mutual. Jack, because he couldn't stomach their mission and objectives; Yvonne Hartman, because she hated that Jack had visibility to all of their goings-on, and was often on the end of the phone, protesting against whatever piece of cutting edge technology had just been reported on. There was only so much he could take, and that "what you don't know can't hurt you" philosophy had overridden any burning urges to put their whole organisation to an end. That was all about to end. Jack just had no idea that it wouldn't be him who'd be responsible for ending it.

More alarms began sounding. What the hell was going on over there?

Despite the divorce, he wasn't silly enough to have let them cancel all of his access rights, by which he meant he'd instructed Tosh to hack their systems and make sure they always had a back door way in, just in case. It was this back door that he was now squeezing past to find out just what was happening.

He'd heard the reports of ghosts popping up all over London. It was hard not to, every local news broadcast was covering the story and even after two weeks of it, it hadn't managed to fade into the background. He didn't need to confirm his suspicions, it had Torchwood's name written all over it. But what were they playing at? How was this bettering the human race? A whole bunch of ghosts and dead people turning up at the alloted hour each day? No, there had to be something more going on behind the scenes. The only problem was that he'd been too busy to give it his full attention. Until now.

A few moments later he had his answer. They weren't ghosts, they were cybermen. Torchwood One was being overrun with them, as was half the city as every ghost became a metal monster, hell bent on killing or converting anyone who stood in their way. He'd never faced a cyberman before, but he'd visited worlds that had seen their destructive force, and waded through the relics and ruin they'd left behind.

Another alarm sounded. Oh no. Daleks? Here on Earth? No, this couldn't be happening. It wasn't supposed to be happening. The world didn't end today, he was sure of it.

Regardless, thousands of people were dying thanks to the selfish, thoughtless acts of Torchwood One. He had to put a stop to it, even though he had no idea how. Whatever happened today, maybe he was a part of it. Maybe that's why he couldn't die, and that the future depended on him. It was a sobering thought.

He reconsidered his phone. There was someone else he could call. Someone on the inside who could tell him what he needed to know. Not all bridges had been burned, and he kept a close link with the handful of people in London he could trust. He dialled the number as he sped towards the SUV.

There was no time for pleasantries when the phone was answered. 'Tell me what's happening,' he ordered.

'They're everywhere!   
Daleks and cybermen.'

'How?'

'It doesn't matter,' came the hushed voice, hurriedly. He could sense that they were in hiding. 'Some people have been saying The Doctor has returned the destroy them. They've seen him with a young blonde woman.'

Jack nearly dropped his phone. It couldn’t be. The Doctor. His Doctor! And Rose! He quickened his pace towards the vehicle, doubly anxious to be there as soon as possible. 'I'm on my way. Just stay put and stay hidden.'

'I can hear them coming!' came the terrified voice.

'Everything's going to be fine. Trust me,' he said, firm and reassuring, even though he could hear them approaching in the background. Before he had a chance to say more, he could hear the metallic commands to delete, followed by a horrific screaming, then nothing. It chilled him to the bone.

He twisted the ignition key with far more force than was necessary, and was straight back on the phone to Tosh. 'Change of plans, Tosh. I need all three of you to get to London as quick as you can. I'm on my way there now and I'm gonna need you to whip up some traffic light magic. I'm about to break every speed limit, big time.'

His urgency to reach London was embedded with a burning desire to find The Doctor. He had to help stop the daleks and the cybermen, but if it was true that his Doctor was here, he could find him and get the answers he so desperately craved; even go traveling with him once more. He'd waited over one hundred years and now he finally had his chance. The world didn't end today because The Doctor was here to save them.

He drove at such speeds that had it not been for the turbulent thoughts running through his mind, even he would have been frightened by the velocity of his vehicle as it swerved dangerously between other cars.

Regardless of his best efforts, the trip from one end of the country to the other still took him nearly two hours, the suburban outskirts slowing him down and the chaos in the streets unavoidable. He abandoned the SUV ten blocks from the tower and ran the rest of the way, assured that the rest of his team were only an hour behind him. But it didn't matter.

He pelted up flight after flight of stairs, finding nothing but dead bodies. There were no daleks and there were no cybermen to be found anywhere. It was as if they had vanished completely, sucked out of existence. He had no idea just how close to the truth he actually was.

Up and up he went, unheeded. The Doctor. He must have done it, after all. Saved planet Earth from destruction once more. Now he just had to find him, and if he was anywhere, it would be right at the very heart of Torchwood One.

He knew how to get to Yvonne's office blindfolded, which was lucky, since half of the tower was unrecognisable due to the carnage. He reached the top of the tower, buzzing with excitement. Today was the day. Today, everything changes.

Instead what he found was nothing. No one. Not a soul. More importantly, no blue police box and no sign of The Doctor or Rose. The battle was over and he was too late. The Doctor was gone. He had probably never even known Jack was here. He'd come so close, but the moment had slipped through his fingers, time itself conspiring against him.

Torchwood One was gone too now. Their prime directive had become their undoing, too blind to see that in pushing the boundaries they'd placed the whole world in danger, and too late to realise their mistake. Jack had waited too long to do something about it. He could have stopped them before it had come to this. All of these innocent people need not have died. Had it not been for The Doctor's intervention, the world might have burned under dalek and cybermen rule.

The Torchwood he despised was gone, although he regretted it now. For good or ill, the entirety of Torchwood now rested in his hands. And if its purpose was to continue to protect the people of this planet, it was going to need a new directive.


End file.
